Pa.'s High Court Must Restrain the Fracking Industry

Pa.'s High Court Must Restrain the Fracking Industry

Article excerpt

Recent studies show the continued negative impacts of unconventional gas drilling on the health, safety and property values of residents living nearby. The fracking industry's history is one of contaminated air and water, exploding wells and pipelines, plummeting home values and even earthquakes.

Such activities take place even after the landmark Robinson decision of the state Supreme Court. In that 2013 decision, the court warned that this "heavy industrial" process would "produce a detrimental effect on the environment, the people, their children, and future generations." Yet the warning goes unheeded.

As Robinson stated, those living in rural and residential areas had certain "expectations" when building their homes and raising their families. Those expectations were not to live anywhere near a polluting industrial activity, which the court identified unconventional gas drilling. …